The Boundaries of Canaan
34 The Lord told Moses 2 to deliver these commands to the Israelites:
When you come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that will fall to you as an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its boundaries), 3 your southern border will extend from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom. Your southern border on the east will start from the south end of the Dead Sea.[a] 4 Your border will turn south of the Ascent of Akrabbim, pass through to Zin, and it will end south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it will go out to Hazar Adda and pass through to Azmon. 5 The border will turn from Azmon to the Stream of Egypt,[b] and it will end at the Mediterranean Sea.[c]
6 For the western border, you will have the Mediterranean Sea as your border. This will be your western border.
7 This will be your northern border: From the Mediterranean Sea you will draw a line for yourselves to Mount Hor. 8 From Mount Hor you will draw a line to Lebo Hamath. The end of the border will be at Zedad. 9 Then the border will go to Ziphron, and it will end at Hazar Enan. This will be your northern border.
10 You will draw a line to serve as your eastern border from Hazar Enan to Shepham. 11 The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain. The border will go down and meet the eastern slope of the Sea of Galilee.[d] 12 The border will go down to the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. This will be your land according to its boundaries on all sides.
Tribal Chiefs Assigned for Dividing the Land
13 Moses commanded the Israelites, “This is the land which you will assign as a possession by lot, which the Lord has commanded you to give to the nine and a half tribes. 14 The tribe of Reuben’s descendants according to their fathers’ houses and the tribe of Gad’s descendants according to their fathers’ houses have already received their possession. Also half of the tribe of Manasseh has received its possession. 15 The two and a half tribes have received their possession east of the Jordan across from Jericho, toward the sunrise.”
16 The Lord spoke to Moses:
17 These are the names of the men who will assign the land as a possession for you:
Eleazar the priest and Joshua son of Nun.
18 You will take one tribal chief from every tribe to assign the land as a possession. 19 These are the names of the men:
Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
20 Shemuel son of Ammihud from the tribe of Simeon’s descendants;
21 Elidad son of Kislon from the tribe of Benjamin;
22 Bukki son of Jogli, a tribal chief from the tribe of Dan’s descendants;
23 from the sons of Joseph: Hanniel son of Ephod, a tribal chief from the tribe of Manasseh’s descendants;
24 Kemuel son of Shiphtan, a tribal chief from the tribe of Ephraim’s descendants;
25 Elizaphan son of Parnak, a tribal chief from the tribe of Zebulun’s descendants;
26 Paltiel son of Azzan, a tribal chief from the tribe of Issachar’s descendants;
27 Ahihud son of Shelomi, a tribal chief from the tribe of Asher’s descendants;
28 Pedahel son of Ammihud, a tribal chief from the tribe of Naphtali’s descendants.
29 These were the men whom the Lord commanded to assign the areas of possession for the Israelites in the land of Canaan.
Footnotes
- Numbers 34:3 Hebrew Salt Sea
- Numbers 34:5 Not the Nile, but a seasonal stream further east, perhaps at Arish
- Numbers 34:5 Hebrew Great Sea
- Numbers 34:11 Hebrew Kinneret